I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for attaching replacement gutters on a building and, particularly, to an improved system which can be used universally with gutter constructions in which the gutter trough is suspended from straps which extend upwardly at longitudinally spaced locations along the length of the gutter trough.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In modern building construction, there are four primary types of gutter installations. These include the spike and ferrule system the floating system, the sky hook, and the roof hanger. In more specific terms, the spike and ferrule is an installation in which an elongated spike is driven through the front upper edge of the gutter trough, through an elongated spacer tube or ferrule, through the rear upper edge of the gutter trough and into a vertically positioned fascia board. The floating system includes a strip, generally of aluminum sheet material, installed on the front face of the fascia board. The gutter trough is snapped into the strip. A support bar connects the front and rear inner edges of the gutter trough and the system is secured to the fascia board by means of a nail through the back of the gutter trough. The sky hook includes a bracket which hooks into the front edge of the gutter trough and presses against the back surface of the gutter trough. A shorter spike than in the instance of the spike and ferrule system is then driven from within the gutter trough through the rear of the gutter trough and into the fascia board such that the head of the spike is hidden from view.
Each of the installation systems just described is used in those instances in which the building to which the gutter is to be installed has a flat fascia board, generally vertically disposed and mounted beneath the eaves or roof overhang of the building to which the gutter is to be attached. The fourth, or roof hanger, system is used when a molded fascia board is present such that the gutter trough cannot be directly attached thereto.
The invention relates to the fourth category of gutter installation systems just described. As roof hanger systems have been used up to the present time, if the gutters are to be attached to the building and the roof shingles are not to be replaced, it is necessary to attach the hanger strap to the roof in such a manner that it overlies the roof shingles; then it is attached by means of a nail passing through a pre-formed hole in it. This is particularly objectionable since roof straps are needed to support the gutter trough at spaced locations along its length. As a result, in this kind of an installation, there are a plurality of parallel, longitudinally spaced, straps mounted to the roof and overlying the shingles which causes an objectionable appearance. Furthermore, the metal hangers are thereby subjected to the weather and, even though any steel components would initially be anodized or otherwise protected against rusting, with the passage of time, they would become rusted. Not only would the straps themselves thereby present an even more unsightly appearance, but there is the further undesirable result that rusty water descending down the side of the building from each hanger strap would carry with it particles of rust which, upon evaporation, would leave behind ugly rust scars on the side of the structure.
An additional drawback of the conventional roof hanger system occurs when the gutter trough is subjected to heavy loads for an extended period of time, ice in winter weather being a primary example. The combination of the ice load and movement of the trough as by wind causes an interaction between the strap and the roof shingle which tends to loosen the mounting fasteners.
Patents which are typical of the prior art in this field are U.S. Pat. Nos. 18,113 issued Sept. 1, 1857; 78,617 issued June 2, 1868; 347,348 issued Aug. 17, 1886; and 948,901 issued Feb. 8, 1910. In each of these instances, the bracket is pre-formed with holes to receive fasteners such as nails for attachment to the roof. Thus, in each instance, the bracket is hidden from view only if it is attached to the base roof structure before the overlying roof shingles are laid down. This is acceptable practice in the event of new construction in which the gutters are attached before the roof is laid down. It is also acceptable practice when the gutters are attached to a building with old roof shingles and in which new roof shingles are to be installed overlying the old roof shingles. However, in actual practice, such situations do not readily occur.
In earlier times, for example, it was customary for a single contractor to perform many different roles in the construction industry. In that instance, it could be readily arranged for the installation of the gutters to precede the laying down of the roof shingles. However, in the modern day, it is more customary than not that contractors who specialize in roofing do not specialize in gutter installations, and vice versa. Hence, it is often times necessary for the installation of the roof shingles to precede that of the gutters. The purpose of the invention is to assure an excellent and aesthetically pleasing installation in such an event.
Furthermore, in each of the prior patents noted above, mounting of the gutter trough is achieved by means of straps or bolts received within elongated slots which lie in a plane generally perpendicular to a plane containing the edge of the roof to which the gutter is being mounted. Such a construction results in a rigid installation which does not readily permit access to regions behind the gutter trough, as for painting and the like. Many of the systems known to the prior art were expensive to manufacture and install, and did not readily permit adjustment in the event it became necessary in the course of installation, or subsequently.